Wedding Favorites!

Last week, we celebrated (kind of) four years of marriage. We got married March 13th, 2010 in our hometown of Naperville, IL. We started dating at the end of high school. I decided to disobey my parent's wish for me to stay in-state and went to College of Charleston in South Carolina. Hubby played football at St. Ambrose in Davenport, Iowa (but later transferred to Missouri State, to pursue better fishing). We broke up after a year of doing the long-distance thing but stayed in touch and waited for the time to be right, which was seven years later. I am so thankful for the time I spent living in the Southeast and I know his experiences and friendships during those years shaped who he is today. 

But we could not wait to get married. He proposed at the church where we met (he first held my hand at the youth group lock-in, presh!) and got married 3 1/2 months later. In retrospect, this rushed engagement is not what I recommend to others but it worked for us! Except for weekends, we were apart up until the day we returned from our honeymoon and moved to Des Moines, Iowa which made for a completely ridiculous first year of marriage. But thanks to the support of a great church and the fact we were madly in love, we made it through some hard times. It is actually that time apart and independence that have helped us prepare to weather the long-stretches of separation we now experience due to Mike's job. 

We looked back at some pictures over the weekend and with wedding season approaching, I thought it might be fun to share them on here! I broke our special day down into my 10 favorite things and am attaching pictures accordingly. 

1. The decorations

Hubby and his roommate made this cake plate using a tree in their backyard

We hung the place cards on a clothes line 

The table numbers were glued to tree limbs, another contribution by the Hubs

Mason jars for the dessert table

2. Wearing a baseball cap and insisting we had Busch Light at the reception (in a can)

Our friends Keegan and Katie caught the garter and bouquet

3. All our friends

Hubs, his brothers, and his two best friends

These crazies have a combined total of four kids now

These girls were students at UNC when I was on staff there, love them!

I love this picture of Ashley and I, she is supervising me to monitor that I don't put on too much make-up

Our beloved friends from our home church who watched us grow up

My sweet friends Brittany and Kristen are both expecting baby girls this summer

Betty and I had babies 3 weeks apart and we still talk on the phone everyday!

4. How involved our families were in making this day special

My sister and mother, they alleviated much of the stress that goes into planning a wedding

My precious friend Lauren is getting married this Spring, and Mike's cousin Tim who he was fishing with on our anniversary last week

Uncle Fred married us, he made us laugh and cry and shared Christ with everyone we love

5. The dress I chose

This sucker was under budget and the first dress I tried on

6. Our ceremony

I walked down the aisle to my dear friend Kellie singing my favorite hymn, "Lord of Lord's" 

So happy!

7. Lots of flowers

8. The places

We got married not at the church we were raised in but one close to my parent's house so that Uncle Fred could perform the ceremony

Our cocktail hour and reception were at the Danada House in Wheaton, Illinois

9. The invitations

Bella Carta Studio did our invitations, I love graphic design so this was an important element to me and they did a fantastic job!

We took this 'Save the Date' photo on a whim, stopping at our Uncle Bob's house on the way home from church one Sunday, using a piece of a cardboard box we found on the side of the road to make the sign

10. Our ridiculous 'exit'

It is more of a southern tradition to have an eventful exit when the couple leaves the reception. Most of my friends had sparklers. The venue we were at restricted fire, rice, and bubbles, so we got innovative and came up with waving hanker-chiefs and blowing bazooka's. I didn't put much thought into it and remember walking out thinking, "Why did I do this?! This is so strange!" 

Every detail of the day did not go perfectly, it had its quirks as do I! As I was searching through these pictures I realized that there were a lot none of our friends had seen. Thanks for looking through this post and giving me a chance to share them!